Northeast India Pushes Rail Electrification In 2025, Assam Still Has Longest Unelectrified Network

Last Updated:August 11, 2025, 10:01 IST

On January 1, 97.06% of the broad-gauge network across Indian Railways was electrified. By May, this increased to 98.88% coverage and by July-end, this share touched 99%

Electrifying railway tracks cuts dependence on fossil fuels, reduces diesel use, and lowers carbon emissions. (PTI)

As India races toward a greener and more efficient transport future, Northeast India is powering ahead in the country’s ambitious railway electrification drive. In just seven months of 2025, the region has electrified over 1,100 route kilometers—dramatically reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting carbon emissions.

While Assam contributed the largest share of this progress, the state still holds the nation’s longest unelectrified rail network, underscoring the challenges that remain, according to data analysed by News18.

The total length of the electrified route stood at 69,102 rkm (route kilometre), as of July 31. A route kilometre is the distance between two locations, regardless of the number of tracks.

On January 1, 97.06 per cent of the broad-gauge network across Indian Railways was electrified. By May, this increased to 98.88 per cent coverage and by July-end, this share touched 99 per cent.

Despite this rapid progress, several states still have unelectrified railway stretches as of July-end: Assam (269 rkm), Tamil Nadu (169 rkm), Karnataka (151 rkm), Rajasthan (93 rkm), and Goa (16 rkm).

Northeast’s Leap

At the beginning of 2025, nearly 2,000 route kilometers of Indian railways remained unelectrified nationwide. In just seven months, the figure dropped sharply to 698 rkm pending by the end of July, with Assam being the biggest push.

At the start of 2025, Assam had a total railway network of about 2,533 rkm, of which 1,431 rkm was electrified and 1,102 rkm remained pending.

By July-end, the total network length increased to 2,578 rkm, with 2,309 rkm electrified and only 269 rkm pending.

Tripura’s electrification surged from about 55 per cent to full coverage this year. Of the 271 rkm of railway line in the state, only 153 rkm were electrified by 2024-end. Now, the entire route is electrified, data shows.

Three states from north-eastern India were among the five states that achieved 100 per cent railway electrification this year.

Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Gujarat, and West Bengal have achieved 100 per cent railway electrification by May, marking important milestones in India’s goal of complete railway electrification.

Sikkim and Manipur are not mentioned in the overall calculations. While Sikkim does not have train connectivity, only a very small section of railway line in Manipur is completed but train operations have been suspended in the state due to violence since 2023.

Zonal Progress

During the five-month period between January and May, Western Railway (WR) and South Central Railway (SCR) also achieved 100 per cent electrification milestones.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) expanded electrified lines from 2,826 rkm in January to 3,802 rkm by May-end. This further improved to 3,927 rkm by July-end of the total 4,196 rkm under the zone.

It is among the only four zones with unelectrified routes in India—93 rkm from North Western Railway (NWR); 169 rkm from Southern Railway (SR); 167 rkm from South Western Railway (SWR) and 269 rkm from NFR.

Railway zones are administrative units established by Indian Railways for efficient management, planning, and execution of railway projects. Each zone covers a specific geographical area but often spans across multiple states, union territories (UTs), and districts.

A Long Journey Still Pending

Completion of electrification projects depends on factors such as forest clearances, rights of way for incoming transmission lines, shifting of utilities, statutory approvals, and the area’s geological and topographical conditions, the ministry said.

Among the other factors that impact the progress are law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions. “All these factors affect the completion time of the project," the ministry said.

While it may seem that electrification on only about 700 rkm is pending and India is on the brink of achieving complete railway electrification, the journey may not be smooth. The remaining routes are mostly in the most-challenging terrains and face operational hurdles.

In Karnataka, sections of Sakleshpur-Subramanya Road-Kabakaputtur line (103 km) are pending for electrification. In Rajasthan, only the electrification of the Dausa-Gangapur railway line is pending.

In Goa, it is the Castle Rock-Kulem line, while in Tamil Nadu, parts of Triuturaipundi-Karaikudi via Pattukotai (117 rkm); Ramanathapuram-Rameswaram (52 rkm); and Chinnasalem-Porpadakurichi (14 rkm) are pending for electrification. These projects may push the 100 per cent electrification drive to the next calendar year, News18 has learnt.

Why Electrification?

Electrifying railway tracks cuts dependence on fossil fuels, reduces diesel use, and lowers carbon emissions. It enables better haulage capacity and higher train speeds, leading to reduced travel time and enhanced efficiency.

Mission 100% Electrification is a highly challenging project, as it involves electrifying railway lines that are already in operation and encountering unforeseen various challenges during execution.

To expedite railway electrification work, various steps have been taken by Indian Railways, including electrification carried out simultaneously for all doubling, new line and gauge conversion projects.

Nivedita Singh

Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived...Read More

Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived...

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First Published:

August 11, 2025, 10:01 IST

News india Northeast India Pushes Rail Electrification In 2025, Assam Still Has Longest Unelectrified Network

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